Smoky the Bar (1969)

About this title: On the back cover of Hank Thompson's 1969 classic Smoky the Bar, Carol Ehler calls Thompson "The Poet Laureate of beer drinkers." No sh*t. With titles like "Let's Get Drunk and Be Somebody," "Pop a Top," "What's Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me)," "Drunkard's Blues," as well as a few sidewinders like "Cocaine Blues" and Jimmie Rodgers' "My Rough and Rowdy Ways," you get the picture. This is honky tonk music made for the people who frequent them. Thompson may have changed his topic by the late '60s to almost exclusively drinking songs, but his unique musical vision hadn't. The ... read more

Tracks:

1. Smokey the Bar [Penix/Thompson]
2. Ace in the Hole [Thompson/Allison/Tr]
3. Let's Get Drunk and Be Somebody [Hall/Thompson]
4. New Records on the Jukebox [Penix/Thompson]
5. My Rough and Rowdy Ways [Rodgers/McWilliams]
6. Cocaine Blues [Arnall]
7. I See Them Everywhere [Higgins/Thompson]
8. Drunkard's Blues [Thompson]
9. What's Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me) [Sutton]
10. Girl in the Night [Thompson]
11. Bright Lights and Blonde Haired Women [Kirk]
12. Pop a Top [Stuckey]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.